HP DVD Writer DVD400i

The HP DVD Writer DVD400i is a robust offering that just six months ago would have garnered top honors. Though not our first choice in this roundup, it suffers only in comparison to even more impressive competition.

The DVD400i was generally slower on our speed tests but not alarmingly so, typically trailing by just a few seconds. And the DVD400i excelled in most other ways. Installation was a snap, thanks to clearly written documentation and a smart animated setup utility that automatically figures out the best way to configure the drive in your system.

A generous software bundle includes the Sonic RecordNow! disc-mastering application, the ArcSoft ShowBiz 2 video-authoring package, and Sonic's Simple Backup data backup program. You also get the CyberLink PowerDVD media player and muvee autoProducer, a unique application that intelligently mixes sound and video clips into effects-laden music videos. Our evaluation unit lacked packet-writing software, which forced us to use our own copy of Sonic DLA 4.5 to run our +RW benchmark tests, but HP plans to have DLA 4.6 available to registered DVD400i owners as a free download by the time you read this.

Unlike the other drives we reviewed, the DVD400i is unable to burn DVD-R and DVD-RW media. We don't consider this a deal breaker because most DVD players sold today handle "plus" and "dash" formats equally well. If you prefer to own a dual-format model, this isn't the drive for you, but it should be an acceptable choice for almost anyone else.

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